Hayes Gardner

Baltimore

Reporter at The Baltimore Banner

Writing for the @BaltimoreBanner | Past: @BaltimoreSun, @CourierJournal.

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Articles

Baltimore home for D.C. United affiliate would cost $200M. Funding source is TBD

1 week ago | thebaltimorebanner.com | Hayes Gardner

A stadium hosting a minor league soccer team could be built in Baltimore by late 2028 and cost roughly $200 million, according to a new study. The crucial question of how such a venue would be funded, however, remains to be answered. The Maryland Stadium Authority contracted design firm Moody Nolan last year to analyze two possible sites for a 7,500-seat stadium, which would serve as the home of a D.C. United-affiliated team competing in the MLS Next Pro league.
Gov. Wes Moore pressed over upcoming Locust Point pier closure

2 weeks ago | thebaltimorebanner.com | Lee Sanderlin |Hayes Gardner

With dozens of longshoremen’s jobs in the balance, some of Maryland‘s most influential lawmakers are making urgent pleas to Gov. Wes Moore to keep a state-owned shipping pier open beyond the year’s end. Canton Stevedoring has leased Pier 4 at the North Locust Point Marine Terminal since 2011, supplying essential road salt to Maryland and other states.
Preakness attendance on par with recent low turnouts at Pimlico’s final hurrah

2 weeks ago | thebaltimorebanner.com | Hayes Gardner

Crowds this weekend at the swan song for Pimlico Race Course were on par with the last three years — but less than a third as large as the roughly 190,000 who attended the weekend during a record-setting 2017. When informed of attendance at the 2025 Preakness Stakes — a combined 63,000 over the weekend — longtime race attendee Ed Rommel was shocked. “Get out of here,” Rommel said Monday.
Storied, historic Preakness Stakes is at a crossroads

3 weeks ago | thebaltimorebanner.com | Hayes Gardner

Today marks the end of a historic — but much too prolonged — era and the dawn of what racing proponents hope will be a brave new chapter. But, as much as it is a crossroads, the 150th Preakness Stakes will be a peculiarity. Mercifully, it’s the final one at the original, crumbling Pimlico Race Course.
Under Armour lost $200M last year and says Trump tariffs add uncertainty this year

3 weeks ago | thebaltimorebanner.com | Hayes Gardner

President Donald Trump’s tariffs have been so volatile and potent that Under Armour is hesitant to predict how it will fare over the next year.
The price of Preakness: a $500 million state infusion, a $5 million annual fee

3 weeks ago | thebaltimorebanner.com | Hayes Gardner

Accusations of irresponsible spending and an abrupt restructuring of the central power overseeing Maryland thoroughbred racing haven’t changed the industry’s most pressing challenge: making the economics work. The state paid a premium last year to wrest control of daily horse racing from an unpopular operator, arguing that a state-funded rebuild of the historic but decaying 155-year-old Pimlico Race Course would help make the industry financially stable.
Six history lessons as the original Pimlico prepares for its final Preakness

3 weeks ago | thebaltimorebanner.com | Hayes Gardner

It has been generations since the home of the Preakness Stakes was the “beautiful Pimlico” that a Virginia newspaper once called it. But Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course, which opened its doors in 1870, is filled with history. The 150th anniversary of Preakness will be its last at the original “Old Hilltop” (which hasn’t had a hill in some 90 years). Shortly after the horses pound around the oval track for two minutes on Saturday, demolition begins.
Preakness 150: T-Pain, Wyclef Jean replace the usual infield festival

1 month ago | thebaltimorebanner.com | Wesley Case |Hayes Gardner

Forgoing the usual infield music festival for the first time in years, the 150th Preakness Stakes is turning to Grammy winners to entertain attendees. On May 17, Wyclef Jean and T-Pain will perform on the relocated stage that will now face toward the Pimlico Race Course’s grandstand, organizers announced Thursday. Jean, a co-founder of the Fugees and a solo artist with nine full-length albums, will perform his set during the festivities, including a song during the NBC broadcast.
Diamond Comic Distributors’ sale canceled as would-be buyer alleges fraud

1 month ago | thebaltimorebanner.com | Hayes Gardner

The sale of Diamond Comic Distributors looked to be a brief, comic-book-length saga. Instead, it’s developed into a graphic novel. The Hunt Valley-based comic book giant, which filed for bankruptcy in January, had a deal in place earlier this month to be purchased. But that sale has been canceled. Instead, the would-be buyer, Alliance Entertainment, is suing Diamond for fraud. The sale had already been acrimonious.
Trump tariff turmoil turns Port of Baltimore into car purgatory - The Baltimore Banner

1 month ago | thebaltimorebanner.com | Hayes Gardner

To avoid President Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on imported cars, some manufacturers are stockpiling inventory at ports.